


26 times the heart beat faster

by almostjulie



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alphabet drabbles, Angst, Drabble Sequence, F/M, Finn-centric, Fluff, Force-Sensitive Finn, various background interpersonal relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 07:29:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11397903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostjulie/pseuds/almostjulie
Summary: “Close your eyes, and reach out for her.”Nothing happens at first. Then, suddenly, there’s a spark, like a handshake in his heart. Finn’s eyes fly open, and the General is nodding.“Looks like my brother will have someone else to train.”Finn and Rey join the Resistance, become Jedi, and grow closer together.





	26 times the heart beat faster

**Author's Note:**

> 26 interconnected drabbles, some more immediately connected than others. Words chosen from a random word generator, except for x-wing, which I also used in my [Finn/Poe set](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6930796) of alphabet drabbles -- x is difficult. 
> 
> Any and all feedback is appreciated, and you can also find me on [tumblr](https://starshipsandhighseas.tumblr.com/) if that’s your thing, where I sometimes post drabbles (of various pairings).

**alive**

They told him, when he woke up, that Rey was alive. 

He’d known, somehow -- had dreamed of her on an island, had felt peaceful reassurance. 

General Organa comes by personally to check on him. When she, too, tells him Rey is fine and he says he knows, she leans in, appraising. “How?” 

Finn tells her about his dreams. “Close your eyes, and reach out for her.” 

Nothing happens at first. Then, suddenly, there’s a spark, like a handshake in his heart. Finn’s eyes fly open, and the General is nodding. 

“Looks like my brother will have someone else to train.” 

**breeze**

Finn shifts from foot to foot as the ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_ lowers. 

A bearded man in Jedi robes disembarks first. He breathes deep and squares his shoulders as he walks over to the General. Luke Skywalker looks smaller in person than in First Order propaganda. More human. 

Finn doesn’t focus long on Skywalker because Rey is coming down the ramp behind him. Finn’s feet carry him forward until he stops just short of her, drinks her in: wisps of hair dancing around her head in the breeze. 

They hug, and the spark in his heart roars to life. 

**confides**

The base buzzes with excitement over Skywalker’s return and the prospect of a new Jedi. They end up in the mess, surrounded by curious Resistance members wanting to know more about Rey. Finn remembers when he was discharged from medical. He reaches for her hand under the table; Rey squeezes back and doesn’t let go.

When the mess empties out and it is just the two of them, Finn confides in her about his discussion with General Organa. Rey grips his hand harder, voice laced with excitement. “I knew I felt you. I didn’t know you could feel me back.” 

**dizzy**

Finn was no stranger to hard work, but training under Master Skywalker is like nothing he’s ever been through. 

He stands on his head until he’s dizzy, exercises with a training staff until his back screams in protest, meditates until he sees his biggest fears. The Jedi Master offers no encouragement, no disparagement, but a quiet insistence that they keep going, going, going. 

Rey trains alongside him, and Finn feeds off her energy. “Don’t know how you did this on your own,” Finn says, after a particularly taxing day. 

She places a palm to his chest. “You were with me.” 

**expectantly**

When they enter Command, the assembled officers turn, almost in unison, and look at them expectantly. Finn sees the General cross her arms and roll her eyes. 

“Eyes front, everyone.” 

There are a few uncomfortable coughs as they refocus on the briefing. 

“As I was saying, we’ve received intelligence that the Knights of Ren are in the Tiralian System. I’d like a team of Pathfinders to accompany our Jedi,” General Organa gestures to the three of them, “and provide any necessary support.”

A jolt of adrenaline courses through Finn. Luke leans in between them. “May the Force be with us.” 

**fuming**

They’re too late -- the Knights long gone, a charred settlement in their wake. They pick up what pieces they can: arrange transport to a nearby Republic-friendly planet for survivors who want to move on with their lives, take on some new recruits -- settlers fuming at the seemingly unprovoked attack. 

“There must have been _something_ here they wanted,” Rey says, breaking the silence in the transport.

Finn glances at Luke, at the thin line of his mouth as he stares out the transparisteel of the cockpit, his frustration evident.

“We’ll just have to keep looking,” is all Finn can say. 

**growls**

Finn’s stomach growls an hour into their debrief. When the General dismisses them, Rey grabs Finn’s hand and drags him, not to the mess, but to her bunk. She digs around in her footlocker, pulls out a couple of ration bars. 

He must make a face because she says, “I know, they’re bland and awful, but I just can’t deal with people right now, you know?”

And he does know. 

So he sits down on her bunk beside her and they eat in silence. When Rey slumps against his shoulder, Finn puts an arm around her and pulls her close. 

**home**

There’s something warm in his chest, blooming and spreading. It’s been there all along, probably since they first flew away from Jakku together, but it’s had time to grow. They have friendship and they’re both strong in the Force (or so Master Luke tells them), but this is something different, something more personal. 

When Finn gets up to leave, Rey stands too. He hesitates, then reaches out and cups Rey’s cheek and kisses her. There’s a hitch in her breath, and then she’s kissing him back, hand at the nape of his neck, holding him close.

It feels like home. 

**identify**

Rey’s fingers trail up Finn’s arm, under the sleeve of his shirt: her foot is fumbling to hook around behind Finn’s to urge him closer. 

They fall together, back onto Rey’s bunk. 

“Are you sure about this?” he asks. He is. The certainty of _Rey_ has been with him longer than he’s consciously been able to identify the feeling. But that doesn’t mean they need to rush into this. 

“Yeah,” she says pulling back to strip off his shirt. “Yeah,” she whispers in his ear, presses up against him, encourages to him to get closer, closer still, until they’re one. 

**jokes**

“We missed you at dinner yesterday,” Jess says the next morning with a shit-eating grin, as Finn and Rey sit down for breakfast. Jess bunks across the hall from Rey.

“Aww, lay off ‘em,” says Paige, reaching over Jess to grab the salt. “They’re young and in love.” 

“ _I’m_ not young?” 

“Not gonna to say anything about the in love part, I see,” Rose jokes, and Jess and Paige both blush before Paige hisses under her breath for her sister to shut up. 

Finn smiles at Rey, who just shrugs and bites into her toast. It’s good having friends.

**kick**

“Oof,” Finn says, as Rey knocks the wind out of him with a swift kick to his chest. 

Rey’s hovering over him in an instant. “Sorry! Are you okay?”

“He’s fine,” Luke interjects. “Your enemies aren’t going to stop in the middle of a fight to ask if you’re okay. Go again.” 

Rey waits. “I’m fine,” says Finn. He shrugs. “Luke has a point.” 

She offers him her hand and hauls him back to his feet. Rey grins, eyes bright. “No holding back, then?” 

“Oh, I can take you.” 

“Let’s see it,” she says, and they rush at each other. 

**learning**

Later, when they’re alone, they take things slow. 

Finn trails light kisses down the column of Rey’s neck, into the hollow by her collarbone, to her breast. She arches her back to meet him, and then he dips lower, against her stomach, between her legs, his breath ghosting against her until he licks in for a taste. 

She tugs at him gently, murmurs reassuring words, lets him know what she likes, her hands scrabbling at his shoulders, finding a rhythm together. 

It’s a learning experience, and Finn takes a mental note of everything he can, eager for the next lesson. 

**mark**

Most mornings, Rey wakes first, greeting Finn with a sleepy smile as he blinks awake, stretches and eases the stiffness out of his back.

“What fresh torture are we in for?” he asks, when he’s awake enough. Yesterday, Luke had them trying to reverse the course of a stream with their minds. 

She kisses the mark on his shoulder left by the cross guard blade. “I think we’re off today.” 

“We get days off?” 

“Luke has that friend visiting -- Wedge? He probably won’t notice if we sneak away.” 

Finn pulls her back against his chest. “Or if we stay here.” 

**noncommittal**

Finn is collapsed on his bunk when he hears the door slide open. The mattress dips as Rey flops down next to him. 

“Good trip?” 

Finn groans in response. General Organa had taken him to a Core World fundraiser: meet the First Order defector, try the canapé, and don’t forget to donate to the Resistance! 

“At least Poe and his charming smile were there to take some of the heat off.” 

“Like your smile isn’t charming.” 

He grunts, noncommittal. 

Rey won’t be deterred -- she pushes the corners of his mouth up -- “Let’s see it!” until they’re both shaking with laughter.

**once**

Rey is straddling him. Finn is deep inside her, surrounded by her heat. Her palms are braced flat on his chest. Every one of his senses seems heightened -- he can feel the individual calluses on her hands as they drag against his skin, trailing embers that spark against him and burn down below the surface. 

It’s much too much and not enough all at once. She picks up her pace and he feels her tighten around him; before he knows it he’s emptying into her with a shout.

“You with me?” She asks, as he comes back to himself.

“Always.” 

**presence**

“She’s a beauty,” Poe is saying to Rey as Finn walks up. They’re looking at a ship in front of them, some kind of mini-yacht -- Finn doesn’t know starships. Poe throws Finn a smile. “Look at what your presence at that fundraiser got us.” 

“ _My_ presence? You’re the pilot, this seems aimed at you.” 

Poe shakes his head. “General’s dragged me to those things for three years. Never produced something like this.” Poe turns back to Rey. “Wanna to take her up? It seats two.” 

Rey bounces on her heels and holds her hand out to Finn. “Let’s go!”

**quick**

They can only go up for a quick flight (“As awesome as that ship is, as Squadron Commander I’m obligated to remind you to conserve fuel.”), but Rey makes the most of it, taking them out of the atmosphere, past the asteroid field, nearly to the edge of the system. 

She cuts the engines and they float for a few minutes, D’Qar a small green speck in the distance. 

In the silence, Finn swears he can hear their heartbeats. He looks at their new home and says, “This is what we’re fighting for,” and doesn’t have to explain -- Rey knows. 

**racing**

Finn sees Rey and Luke ignite their lightsabers out of the corner of his eye. Heart racing, he grips the hilt of his own, and watches the yellow blade appear before him. 

They’re in an abandoned mine, chasing another lead on the Knights of Ren. There’s a crackling anger in the air they all felt when they landed planet-side; Kylo Ren is here somewhere. 

The tunnels are a labyrninth, so they spread out to cover more ground. He can’t see Rey anymore, but he can feel her: a thread through the Force that binds them. Finn holds on tight.

**shiver**

He rounds a corner and finds himself face to face with Kylo Ren. Finn’s much more ready than last time. Still, an involuntary shiver runs down the scar on his back. 

“Traitor!” shouts Kylo, voice echoing through the mineshaft. “We’re finishing this.” 

“Agreed,” Finn says, drawing on everything Luke’s taught him and the countless hours sparring with Rey.

It feels like they’ve been fighting forever when he knocks Kylo off his feet. The advantage is lost when Kylo kicks his legs out from under him. 

Flashes of blue and green announce Rey and Luke’s arrival, and the tide turns again. 

**team**

Kylo knows he’s lost, and he lashes out wildly, unpredictably. Like a caged rancor, he’s even more dangerous in his desperation. 

The three of them work together as a team, trying to contain him. When they have him backed into a corner, Kylo lashes out one last time. Rey’s the unlucky one in his path, and he pierces her side with his ragged blade. 

Finn yells out a wordless sound, and slams Kylo into the rocky wall with the Force. Luke grabs Kylo’s lightsaber, disarming him, and it's over. Rey sways on her feet, Finn catching her before she falls. 

**unsure**

Rey’s breathing shallowly, but she’s breathing. Finn presses his hand into the wound at her side and tells her to hold on. 

Luke emerges from the cave with both lightsabers clipped to his belt, Kylo Ren unmasked and in binders. Kylo’s head hangs low, but Finn is unsure if there’s enough humanity left in him to feel regret.

Snoke and the Order are still a threat. But Kylo is in custody, and there’ll be a facility at the base to hold him until the General decides what to do. 

Finn looks at Rey and doesn’t care about any of that. 

**vaguely**

Luke and Finn march Kylo to his holding cell. “Go. I’ll deal with,” Luke pauses, waves his hand around vaguely, “all of this.” 

Finn’s never been so grateful to the Jedi Master, nor felt his pain so acutely: they may not share the same bond Finn has with Rey, but everything is connected in the Force. He passes General Organa on his way out, the sheer force of her emotion like a blow to his chest. 

In medical, Rey is already insisting to the med droid that she’s fine. She grins at Finn. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.” 

**wobbly**

The world went a little wobbly when he thought he lost her. It scares him. Finn goes back to his own bunk that night. It’s a little surprising around base that they’re not already sharing, but today he’s grateful for the space. 

He doesn’t sleep well, and he’s _annoyed_ at himself about it. He cares deeply about Rey; he knows she cares for him. But he worries that years of indoctrination meant to tear away compassion might have made him incapable of adequately _showing_ he cares. 

Rather than let his mind eat him alive, Finn realizes he needs another perspective. 

**x-wing**

Finn runs into Snap and Karé as they stumble out of the hangar, arm in arm. “You guys seen Poe?”

“Working on his baby,” Snap says.

Finn finds him, head deep in the underbelly of his X-wing. Finn wants to ask, _what do you do when you’re in love_ , but the words won’t come out. “Do you have regrets?”

Poe crouches down, really looks at him. “Of course.” Poe’s always been good at reading him. “I try to have as few as possible, though.” 

“I need to find Rey.” 

“Good luck, buddy,” Poe shouts, as Finn races back outside. 

**yanks**

“Hey,” he says, when he finds her meditating.

“Hey,” Rey says back, with a sweet smile. 

“I need to tell you something.” 

She takes his hands and yanks him down so they’re both sitting cross-legged on the ground. “Okay.” 

The words still won’t come. Instead, he shifts forward and presses their foreheads together. “Can I show you?”

Rey gives a tiny nod, and he reaches out with his mind, pouring the heat he’s been carrying in his heart into her. When he pulls back and searches her face, Rey says, “Me, too,” and pulls him in for a kiss. 

**zoom**

They lay side by side in the grass and watch a squadron of A-wings zoom overhead in formation. Rey’s fingers are intwined in his, the length of her side warm against him. They’re using the Force, floating berries off a nearby tree to eat.

Luke would frown and lecture them about improper use of the Force if he were here, but Finn doesn’t care. 

Rey rolls on her side, rests her head on his chest. The First Order is still out there. Soon, they’ll be called back to the fight. But here, and now, his galaxy is two heartbeats.


End file.
